QA workers at Blizzard Albany are unionizing
A group of QA workers from Blizzard Albany, formerly Vicarious Visions, have formed a union to ensure they are "respected and compensated for our essential role in the development process."
The news comes shortly after QA staff at Raven Software successfully voted to unionize after a protracted battle that saw parent company Activision Blizzard allegedly employ union busting tactics to "thwart" their efforts.
Breaking cover on social media, Game Workers Alliance Albany (GWA Albany) said that QA is currently an "undervalued discipline" in the game and software industries and called on Activision Blizzard to voluntarily recognize the union.
GWA Albany has organized with assistance from the Communications Workers of America (CWA), which also helped Raven QA workers with their unionization efforts.
"We, the QA testers of Blizzard Albany are committed to fostering an open, diverse and equitable workplace. We demand an environment where our skills, ideals, and democratic decisions are valued and respected. To that end, we have organized with the CWA to form our union," wrote CWA Albany on Twitter.
The group said it has formed to secure competitive and fair compensation, pay transparency, and better benefits and improved health care coverage. It also wants to help address disparities in titles and compensation to accurately recognize the contributions and abilities of QA employees.
In addition, the group has implored Activision Blizzard to establish transparent processes and lines of communication to help address all workplace issues, including misconduct and retaliation. It also wants the Call of Duty publisher to do more to improve the work-life balance of its employees, such as by establishing "reasonable protocols" to address
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